7 Tourist Scams in Los Angeles

You're strolling down the Hollywood Walk of Fame, snapping photos of your favorite celebrity stars embedded in the sidewalk, when someone dressed as Spider-Man or Supergirl suddenly appears and throws an arm around you — all smiles. Before you realize what's happening, a photo gets taken, and the character's 'manager' materializes out of nowhere demanding $20, $30, even $50 for the privilege. The whole encounter happened so fast you're not even sure you agreed to anything. Multiple r/travel users have documented this hustle in painful detail. One poster wrote: 'Hollywood got me. We were two young women checking out the Walk of Fame when a woman dressed like Supergirl started following us around. She then wanted us to take a picture with her — and suddenly demanded payment. We just walked away but she kept following.' The pressure can escalate if you hesitate, with the 'manager' getting increasingly agitated. The characters operate in a legal gray zone — they're technically 'buskers' and have won court battles to remain on the boulevard. That said, they can be extremely aggressive with tourists who don't understand the financial expectation. r/LosAngeles regulars consistently warn visitors to simply not engage and keep walking, treating these encounters like you would a timeshare pitch.

You're minding your own business near the TCL Chinese Theatre when a guy walks up, makes intense eye contact, and presses a CD into your hands. 'That's for you, free, I'm an up-and-coming artist.' Flattered, you accept. Then before you can hand it back, he's already got his phone out showing you the 'donation' Venmo QR code — and he's not taking no for an answer, getting louder and more aggressive as you protest. This scam has been documented on r/LosAngeles for over a decade, with a 2014 thread titled 'The guys running the free CD scam in Hollywood' describing the operation in detail. The hustlers often work in groups, with one person distracting while another approaches from behind. They count on social embarrassment to make victims pay rather than cause a scene. The CDs themselves are often blank or contain nothing of value. The 'artists' are operating a pure pressure-based cash extraction operation. r/AskAnAmerican users confirmed this scam remains active as of 2024, noting the same approach is used in Times Square and on the Las Vegas Strip.

Standing near the Walk of Fame, you get approached by an enthusiastic person with a clipboard offering a 'celebrity homes tour' — only $30, leaves in 10 minutes, you'll see Brad Pitt's house! The van is beat-up, the 'tour guide' is making up facts, and the 'celebrity homes' turn out to be distant glimpses of generic mansions that could belong to anyone. You paid $40 by the end, since there were 'fuel surcharges' added on.

You pull into a parking spot near Venice Beach or Griffith Park and notice a QR code sticker on the meter or a sign saying 'SCAN TO PAY.' You scan it, enter your credit card details into what looks like a legitimate parking payment page — and think nothing more of it until your bank calls about fraudulent charges. The QR code was a fake, placed over or near the real meter, redirecting to a phishing site that harvested your card number.

You're walking the Venice Beach Boardwalk, taking in the street art and performers, when someone grabs your wrist and starts tying a bracelet onto it while saying something about 'good luck' or 'friendship.' By the time you realize what's happening, it's tied on and they're demanding $20. If you refuse, they follow you aggressively, publicly shaming you for 'taking the bracelet' in front of other tourists.

You've just arrived in Los Angeles and rented a car. You park near Griffith Observatory or a popular hiking trailhead, leave your suitcase in the trunk thinking it's safe, and come back 45 minutes later to a smashed window and everything gone — laptop, passport, all your clothes. You're not even a victim of a 'scam' per se, but thieves specifically target tourist rental cars, knowing they often contain all of a visitor's belongings.

A woman sitting behind a velvet-draped table catches your eye near the Santa Monica Pier. 'You have a special energy,' she says. 'Let me do a quick free reading.' You sit down, she reveals she can sense a 'curse' or 'dark energy' around you that only she can remove — for a $100 'spiritual cleansing.' If you pay, the curse gets worse in the next reading and the price escalates. Some tourists have been bled for hundreds of dollars across multiple sessions.